Blog
02 Aug 2021 By Heather Burns
Scotland’s Digital Rights Agenda: Beyond the Elections
This spring’s Scottish Parliamentary elections were an opportunity for ORG Scotland to take a step back from the usual legislative workload, as well as our work on public technology in the pandemic, and reflect on the wider digital rights agenda in Scotland at a time of momentous change.
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15 Apr 2021 By Heather Burns
Scottish Elections: Freedom of expression online
Ahead of May’s elections, Open Rights Group Scotland has selected three areas of focus for our digital rights campaigning.
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13 Apr 2021 By Heather Burns
Scottish elections: Policing and surveillance
Ahead of May’s elections, Open Rights Group Scotland has selected three areas of focus for our digital rights campaigning.
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09 Apr 2021 By Heather Burns
Scottish elections: Privacy and digital identity
Ahead of the Scottish elections, Open Rights Group Scotland has selected three areas of focus for our digital rights campaigning.
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06 Apr 2021 By Heather Burns
Scottish Elections: the digital rights agenda
One month from now, Scottish voters go to the polls to have their say on the next five years of democratic representation.
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02 Mar 2021 By Matthew Rice
One final push to modernise defamation law in Scotland
Today, the Defamation and Malicious Publications (Scotland) Bill will be debated and voted into law by the Scottish Parliament.
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10 Sep 2020 By Matthew Rice
Protect Scotland App launches
Note: 25 September – this blog, originally published on 10 September 2020 has been updated with links to Protect Scotland’s transparency section.
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01 Jun 2020 By Matthew Rice
4 key recommendations for Scotland’s AI strategy
In late summer of 2019 the Scottish Government announced that they would develop an AI Strategy for Scotland.
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28 May 2020 By Matthew Rice
We need to see proof of Scotland’s contact tracing privacy standards
As test and trace programmes are launched across the United Kingdom its time to revisit whether we have any further clarity on the privacy impact assessments of Scotland’s plans.
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04 May 2020 By Matthew Rice
Scotland’s different path on contact tracing is to be welcomed, but questions remain
Scotland seems to be taking a different path on the question of covid19 contact tracing, while this is welcome, questions remain the need to make sure this works for all of Scotland.
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06 Feb 2020 By Matthew Rice
Scottish Biometrics Commissioner receives Committee boost
Amendments made to the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Bill have strengthened the status of the proposed Commissioner, including providing an individual complaints procedure, making the code of practice set by the Commissioner binding and allowing for the Commissioner to present compliance notices.
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05 Feb 2020 By Jennifer Breslin
Conference report – Computer, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) Brussels 22nd-24 January 2020
Last week I attended the ‘Computers, Privacy and Data Protection’ annual conference in Brussels.
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24 Jul 2019 By Matthew Rice
What Scotland can learn from the facial recognition fiasco
Facial recognition may be an ambition for Police Scotland, but they can’t let that blind them to the steps they need to take before embarking on trials.
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18 Jun 2019 By Matthew Rice
Cyber Kiosks: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again
Over the weekend, the chair of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA – the body overseeing Police Scotland), Susan Deacon, said that critics of Police Scotland’s roll-out of cyber kiosks were living in a “time warp” and peddling “sensationalist” human rights fears.
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12 Jun 2019 By Matthew Rice
The Guessing Game: Next steps from Scottish Government on Cyber Kiosks
On Thursday 13 June 2019 the Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf will take a seat in Committee Room 6 in the Scottish Parliament in front of the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing.
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16 Nov 2018 By Matthew Rice
Police Scotland have opened their Pandora’s box
In an attempt to establish new procedures for the seizure and examination of digital devices Police Scotland may have opened a Pandora’s box.
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25 Sep 2018 By Matthew Rice
The future of surveillance oversight needs YOU!
Way back in 2008, then First Minister Alex Salmond gave a speech to the Scottish Parliament on simplifying government.
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31 Aug 2018 By Matthew Rice
The Generation Game: Defining Biometrics
Rules about how long a given piece of biometric data is held are important, and also important is who would oversee the rules.
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21 Aug 2018 By Matthew Rice
Building for which future? Reaction to the proposed Scottish Biometrics Commissioner
First the good news.
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20 Jun 2018 By Matthew Rice
Freedom of information in Scotland: Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture
On Wednesday 13 June the Scottish Information Commissioner’s Office (SICO) published their intervention into the Scottish Government’s freedom of information practice and performance.
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15 May 2018 By Matthew Rice
Purchase first, policies later: Police Scotland under scrutiny
With thanks to Cian for notes on the Committee hearing
On Thursday 10 May, the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing in the Scottish Parliament took evidence from Police Scotland on its use of “Cyber Kiosks”, mobile phone forensic technology that acts as a “window” into an individual’s phone.
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09 Apr 2018 By Matthew Rice
One more step towards a Scottish Biometrics Commissioner
Scotland, unlike England, Wales and Northern Ireland, does not have an independent body overseeing the use of biometric data such as DNA, fingerprints, facial images.
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23 Feb 2018 By Matthew Rice
3 Ways to Improve Democratic Participation in Scotland
Democracies around the world are facing a crisis in relevance and participation.
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09 Feb 2018 By Matthew Rice
E-voting’s Unsolvable Problem
E-voting is sold to the public as a solution to the problem of democratic participation, especially ‘the youth’ turnout.
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29 Jan 2018 By Matthew Rice
Electronic Voting: An idea whose time has come to go away
The Scottish and Welsh Governments want to run trials of electronic voting.
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11 Jan 2018 By Matthew Rice
2018: Threats, Opportunities and Databases
When it comes to Scotland, Open Rights Group’s work in 2018 provides some enormous opportunities – and threats too.
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01 Dec 2017 By Caitlin Bishop
We’re all data subjects now
Whether you are a chief executive with a LinkedIn account, a charity worker with a Twitter presence, or a lawyer subscribed to newsletters and conference websites, you are an individual that has signed up and agreed to the terms and conditions of a service.
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09 Aug 2017 By Matthew Rice
There is a light and it shouldn’t go out: Freedom of Information in Scotland
A strong freedom of information law is the bedrock of a democratic society.
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03 Jul 2017 By Ed Johnson-Williams
Shape the future of ORG Scotland’s local groups
The events are also a chance to meet people with an interest in digital rights and figure out how we can work together to protect and promote digital rights across Scotland.
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27 Jun 2017 By Matthew Rice
Devolved voice in Scotland vital for securing human rights in the digital age
This article originally appeared in Scotland on Sunday 25 June 2017 as Matthew Rice: Devolved voice vital for digital security
The role of technology in Scotland is more important than ever.
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17 Mar 2017 By Jim Killock
Now we need to dismantle the Scottish ID system
The Scottish identity system is remarkably similar to the now-abandoned model constructed by Labour.
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22 Jun 2015 By Ed Johnson-Williams
ORG Scotland is launching!
We are launching ORG Scotland this week with a series of free events across the country.
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04 Mar 2015 By Jim Killock
Call your MSP – Identity debate today!
It is being created through a weak consultation and a single vote later this year.
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20 Feb 2015 By Jim Killock
Deputy First Minister John Swinney asked questions about the Scottish National ID Database
Both Green and Labour MSPs asked questions yesterday to question the plans to convert the NHS Register into a Scottish National Identity Database.
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16 Feb 2015 By Jim Killock
Shallow response from MSPs shows heads in sand over Scottish ID Database
To help both MSPs who have been asked to use this response, and our supporters, we here take the points raised in the letter and respond to them.
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16 Feb 2015 By Jim Killock
We’re hiring!
You can find out details of our new part time job, working on Scottish policy, on ORG’s job page.
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09 Feb 2015 By Jim Killock
The National Identity Database comes back – but just for Scotland
In Scotland, too, the system comes with an identity card system, assigns each person a unique identifier and will link each person’s activity in each Scottish ministry, service and local council where the system is used.
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